


all roads lead to home

by maiaslightwood



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, F/F, Gen, Graduation, Post-Canon, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 12:44:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20675594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maiaslightwood/pseuds/maiaslightwood
Summary: Things are peacefully, easily mundane.( — or two scenarios in which Maia's life could have gone in a different direction and one in which the future may have a surprise for her yet. )





	all roads lead to home

**Author's Note:**

> written for day three of [#maiarobertsappreciation week](https://twitter.com/neenwolf/status/1164728333969395712?s=20) for the prompt _what if..._
> 
> i wanted to explore different scenarios in which maia's fate may have gone in a different direction and then one where we would have gotten to see more of her in the future. (and it wouldn't be me without the possibility of a certain relationship...)  
small disclaimer: i dont know much about american college/uni system and what i incorporated here is a result of very little research and what i've seen in shows/movies. 
> 
> **Trigger Warnings**:  
Maia briefly thinks of Jordan and the abuse she suffered from him.  
Maia and Isabelle drink alcohol.

** i. **

As soon as she steps outside the building the sun greets her with a gentle _hello_, kissing her skin and chasing away the chilliness of sitting within an old building for hours. Beside her, Eli lets out a groan and tilts their head back dramatically so that their dark curls bop in their ponytail.

"I swear I thought he'd never let us out of there. If I have to listen to one more lecture on the history of deep-sea research I'll bring pillows and we can catch up on some sleep next time."

Maia giggles in response, a sound no longer foreign to her throat. She lets herself be tugged along campus, between other students yelling and laughing and complaining about one exam or another. It's achingly familiar by now and yet so different from Ocean City. Next to her, Eli is babbling on about some party they need to go to this evening, wondering if the cute boy always sitting in the front row will be there. (Probably not, he seems to be avoiding all gatherings like the plague, but Maia won't be the one to destroy Eli's daydreams.)

Eventually, they settle in the grass beneath an old oak tree that has been giving its shadows to the students of Rutgers for decades now. Sometimes Maia likes to imagine who else has been trading notes and laughter with their friends in just this spot; how their lives might be intertwined with hers in the simplest ways. Who had protected this tree from being cut down like most of the others in the courtyard? Who had carved their initials into its bark? Who had been the one to angrily scratch it out and what had been the story there? 

A slow aching thought tugs at her heart then, of smiles and kisses turned sour and blinding hot fear crawling up her neck. She realizes she hasn't thought about Jordan for weeks. Her life in Ocean City seems like a faraway dream she can only view through sheer curtains that obscure most of the details. And when those thoughts do visit her it's less with nostalgia and more with relief. 

Here, with Eli digging in their backpack to conjure up a Tupperware filled with kibbeh to share with her, it's easy not to think of back home. Not when New Brunswick had carved its own place into her heart.

She lies back in the soft grass, smiles up at the baby-blue sky and lets the sun soak her ankles.

"Maia, you okay?" Eli asks, offering up the Tupperware to her with a quirked brow.

"Yeah," she breathes. "I'm just really happy."

Eli eyes her for a moment, then shrugs and plops down next to her. Things are peacefully, easily mundane.

** ii. **

Maia hears her name being called through a wall of cotton in her ears. People clap but it seems miles away. Her feet work on auto-pilot and carry her forward. She knows she’s smiling and some part of her brain provides her with a rush of feelings to let her know it's okay and alright and _wanted_ to be happy in this moment. Her fingers shake when she grabs the roll of paper from a woman she has barely ever exchanged a few words with but her voice sounds genuinely happy when she exclaims: "Congratulations, Miss Roberts!"

Then she moves on and there are flowers and knocking elbows with her classmates and more bright smiles. In the rows in front of her, parents are waving and taking pictures excitedly, clutching more flowers or little presents. Somewhere in the middle of it all, her mother and father wave, a little more hesitantly but the pride in their smiles is visible even from such a distance. Her heart warms at the sight, at the time they've spent apart and the slow mending they've done in the past years to get to where they are now. It's not perfect and part of her might never fully be able to forgive and move on but having them here plunges her back into reality. To the sweaty grip, she has on the paper, her diploma from _Columbia_. It wrings a slow, disbelieving laugh from her throat and next to her one of her classmates claps her on the back gently, eyes wide and shining in what she thinks might be a mirror of her own happiness. 

There's just one thing...

Her eyes wander across the clapping and cheering crowd. Tugged away in a corner and ignored by everyone else are nine figures, invisible to the rest of the room. And even if she's not entangled in their messy, complicated world anymore, Maia is glad she didn't lose the ability to see them at least.

Bat is clapping so quickly and loudly that a few people close to him look around to find the sound’s source. She winces when she thinks of the bruises he'll have on his hands but his wide grin tells her he doesn't mind. Luke smiles brightly, proudly and next to him Maryse is clutching a bouquet that makes all other flowers in the room pale in comparison. The small child in Alec's arm waves its tiny fist excitedly at her. Maia waves back discreetly which causes them to giggle and then shout something in Magnus's ear, who is holding a gift bag she's not sure she will be able to carry alone. Next to him, Clary and Izzy are snapping away on their phones, no doubt taking horrible pictures of each of her tiniest movements but it's so endearing she can't bring herself to care. Further in the background, Jace is leaning against a wall, his eyes jumping around and taking in all the other excited mundanes. She's sure he'll claim that the family dragged him along but when his gaze moves to her now and they share a gentle smile, she knows it'll be a lie. 

Despite it all and the problems that usually follow them, which she managed to outrun if it wasn’t for the bi-monthly dinners at the new Jade Wolf, she feels an invisible weight lifted off her chest to know they all came to share this moment with her in silent support.

In the background, names are being called and futures changed. Maia looks down onto both her pasts intertwining in a way she never thought possible and can't wait to see what happens next.

** iii. **

It’s the wolves’ turn to host the cabinet meeting this time. Taki’s Diner is closed for everyone else and a few moved chairs and tables transform the place into a somewhat professional environment. Of course, Lorenzo Rey makes no attempt at hiding the disgust in his eyes and she’d very much like to tell him exactly where he can shove his snotty attitude. How the warlocks haven’t kicked him out of Brooklyn and appointed someone else yet is beyond her. Maybe she should pay Catarina, Dot and Madzie a visit soon.

Everyone else seems to be comfortable enough. Lily is slurping on an (extra bloody) Bloody Mary. Meliorn, always the quiet observer, is leaning back in his seat, sending her an eye roll every once in a while at Rey’s flowery language and ridiculous requests.

The only thing out of the ordinary is Isabelle. Her fingers play with the pen she usually uses to scribble down notes on her tablet. Today she sits with her shoulder slumped, barely offers any words at all. Something about the glimmer in dark eyes Maia has come to be so familiar with is broken. Afterward, she stays longer than the rest. Rey can’t seem to get out of there quick enough. Meliorn touches her elbow and bids her goodbye. Lily embraces her warmly, planting a kiss on her cheek and then waves at Isabelle with a little less enthusiasm. The Head of the New York Institute stays seated at the table, staring at the notes in front of her.

With a sigh, Maia places two glasses and a bottle of Tequila in between them.

“What’s going on?” It makes her think a little of their first meeting, in this very same space, at a similar table with similar questions.

“Mh?” Isabelle raises one brow as if she has no clue what Maia is talking about but she knocks back the shot nonetheless. 

“Come on, you’ve been quiet all evening and trying to burn a hole into your tablet with your eyes alone.”

The Tequila leaves a pleasant, warm burn at the back of her throat. Isabelle refills their glasses on her own accord, drinking her own shot immediately. She winces and Maia tries not to find it too adorable to have the most powerful Shadowhunter in New York opposite her and being defeated by Tequila.

“Simon and I broke up,” she finally says into the quiet room. Then, after a deep breath: “Well, I broke up with him, I guess.”

It takes her aback a little because that isn’t quite what she expected. New Clave regulations maybe or Jace and Clary up to no good again that are giving her a headache. Granted, she hasn’t seen Simon and Isabelle together in a while so she wouldn’t be the best person to assess whether their relationship was going well. And to be completely honest, as much as she and Simon tried to stay friends and she built a slow foundation of trust with Izzy, she didn’t really care about their romance enough to ask.

“Oh. I’m sorry?”

Isabelle waves her apology away. “Don’t be. I’m not upset about the break-up, really. It’s more that…”

She looks up then, eyes round and vulnerable as if she wants to confess a truth to Maia she’s never voiced out loud. It sends a sudden rush down Maia’s spine, like lightning striking down with all its might, making her very aware of the space they’re sitting in and the way they’ve both leaned in and the alcohol in her veins. She wouldn’t necessarily consider Isabelle and her friends. Allies, maybe. Acquaintances that meet for work and sometimes at the dinners Luke and Maryse host. She’s a good drinking buddy every once in a while and well, frankly, gorgeous. But none of those warrant the offer of trust she can see in the depth of her gaze and the tremble of red lips.

“I look at my brothers and my mother and god, everyone around me and they’re all so happy and in love. And I’ve tried, you know, but just… something is always missing.”

Maia hums noncommittally, swirling the Tequila bottle slowly so the liquid splashes around. It’s a feeling she knows too well mixed with the underlying fear of being hurt again and again and _again_; of loss and heartbreak. 

“I know what you mean,” she says eventually, not looking up even as she feels the weight of Isabelle’s stare on her. “And putting yourself out there, trying isn’t easy. But… I’ll give you a piece of advice someone else once gave me.”

She refills their glasses, clinking them together with a slow smile. 

“We’ve all been there. It doesn’t mean you should stop trying.”

Isabelle blinks at her owlishly for a second or two until the memory seems to come back to her. And then she’s throwing her head back, dark curls cascading past her shoulders and laughs more genuinely than Maia has ever heard her. To distract herself from the sight and sound and the warmth it leaves in her heart she knocks back the next shot but it does little to get rid of the little smirk tugged in the corners of her lips.

“Must have been a pretty wise person, indeed,” Isabelle says with sparkling eyes, reaching for her own glass. 

“I don’t know they can be kind of annoying sometimes.” She ignores the Shadowhunters affronted gasp, relishing instead in the warmer, carefree atmosphere. Just them, a drink and the empty Taki’s Diner. “But… I think I trust them to have my back.”

Isabelle smiles gently and then reaches over to lay her hand over Maia’s. Her fingers are soft, despite the weapons she wields. “I will. I _do_.”

**Author's Note:**

> i think it's pretty easy to guess but just in case:
> 
> i - maia is never turned into a werewolf and takes her spot at rutgers university  
ii - maia takes the serum jordan offers her in 3.20  
iii - things progress as they do in canon
> 
> come talk to me on [twitter](twitter.com/wylanfaheys) or [tumblr](eternalalec.tumblr.com)!


End file.
